Merciful God, You are great in compassion and Your tenderness for us is without measure. We ask You to give us today our daily bread, and also provide for the needs of all of Your hungry children around the world. Through Christ Your Son and Our Lord. Amen.

Friday, March 18, 2011

Sweet Irish Treats

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The Feast of St. Patrick's Day is always a big one to celebrate in our house. It's hardly possible to completely miss it with so many reminders in our culture. Secretly I always get a little giggle out of the fact that our secular world celebrates this great saint's day. Yesterday I was driving my son home from his drum lesson and a local elementary school was letting a huge sea of green out the front doors. Too funny! I just wish all those children really knew what a great saint they are celebrating!

Last night's dinner of Irish fish and chips and Fried Cabbage was a great way to celebrate this great saint, and our desserts, two new "recipes" offered a tasty ending to the day. We don't normally indulge in dessert during Lent, but St. Patrick's Day and St. Joseph's Day are two exceptions to the rule. There are an awful lot of Irish saints on the liturgical calendar, so you won't have to work too hard to come up with an excuse to celebrate with a yummy Irish dessert.

Both desserts are simple and should be assembled just before serving. The Irish Jig is a simple mix of whipping cream, sweeteners, whiskey and coconut cookies. The whiskey is really the flavor of the dessert, so if you don't like whiskey, you won't like it. I had some Southern Comfort on-hand and used it instead of whiskey. Southern Comfort is a fruit, spice and whiskey flavored liquer which was created by an Irish bartender -- so close enough for me. The younger children enjoyed Shamrock Shakes instead -- a homemade take on that fast food treat.

Irish Jig

serves 4

2 cups cold whipping cream

2 T. sugar

1 T. powdered sugar

1/2 t. vanilla

2 T. Irish whiskey

1 cup crumbled coconut macaroons (I used Archway brand)

Whip cream in a mixer on high speed with sugars until thick and soft peaks form. Add whiskey and vanilla and finish beating until stiff. Fold in cookie crumbs. Serve in dessert glasses.

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Shamrock Shake

serves 2

3/4 cup milk

2 cups vanilla ice cream

1/2 t. peppermint flavoring

4 drops green food color

2 T. sugar

whipping cream (from the can)

green sprinkles

In a blender, or large plastic glass for use with an immersion blender, combine all ingredients except whipped cream and sprinkles. Blend until thick and creamy. Pour into two fancy glasses and top with whipped cream and green sprinkles.

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